CoastersNSich Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 From Friday's edition of the Cincinnati Business Courier: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinna.../20/story5.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- The article mentions: - some of the companies interested: Universal, Anheuser-Busch, and Cedar Fair. - Put up for auction in late January - A deal could be made in second half of 2006. - Dennis Speigel expects parks could go for between $800 million and $1.2 billion. - CBS CEO Les Moonves: "(Paramount Parks is a) healthy, profitable business with great management. But it's one that just doesn't fit our core strategy." - Intellectual properties (Paramount Pictures theming) expected to remain - Cedar Fair looked at some of the Six Flags properties, but since they didn't buy, they may be logical contender for Paramount properties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaUsTy83 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Cedar Fair Sounds pretty interested in the parks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Keep in mind, that while interesting, there is nothing in that article presented as actual fact. (Of course, other than the fact CBS has announced their intent to sell the parks.) All of the speculation is exactly that--it's educated guesses made by analysts. There were no quotes from anyone at CF, Universal, Busch, et. al., or even the analysts saying they knew for a fact that anyone from these companies had made bids (the term "he surmised" being the teller). Of course, the other theme park companies will be interested...if you collected Corvettes and the guy down the street was selling one, you'd definitely go take a look. You may, or may not, make an offer depending on a lot of factors. (And, he may, or may not, accept your offer even if you did based on even more factors...) As Dick Kinzel said in the CF conference call, they have a responsibility to their stockholders to review these types of expansion opportunities whenever they present themselves. He also said that they would only make a bid if the due diligence warranted it, it increased value to the unit holders, and made sense to the balance sheet. Cedar Fair (or CF in conjunction with another investor) may very well end up buying Paramount Parks... I'm just saying that there's nothing in this article that convinces me that outcome is anymore likely than it already has been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium13 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I personally would like to see Anheuser-Busch or Universal buy the parks. I like how they run their parks, all of them have great atmospheres, rides, shows, and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 A very interesting article. But nothing new has really been mentioned other than the fact that CBS is looking to sell the parks, and that they have several interested buyers. I would suspect that Cedar Fair will seriously look at Paramount Parks as a way of expanding their reach. However, the large capital involved in the purchase might not be a viable option for Cedar Fair, unless they get some financial backing from a seperate investor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cewldre Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Cedar Fair has been looking at the Paramount Properties for quite some time... Just a little note. Also, these are the potnetials, but I do believe there are several other bidders. Do not rule out the possibility of a private investor. There's a lot that can happen between now and the sale of the park. One thing that wasn't mentioned in the thread but was mentioned in the article was the Paramount and CBS may sell, at least lease, the right to continue the use of the names of nick rides and attractions for some time so that a change wasn't needed immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I think that if Universal took over that we'd be in the same mess as we are with Paramount. I tell ya though that Bush Parks would just be a wet dream as an owner. <G> Can you imagine what they'd be able to pull off at all the properties?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Speaking of Busch... Columbus was the original proposed location for the park that became BGW. (Or, at least one of the proposed locations...) This was planned back in the late 60s, and would have gone in at the intersection of I-270 & I-71 right next to the Brewery. Apparently, the Franklin County commissioners wouldn't play ball with AB, and then Taft announced the plans for KI. What had originally looked like such a good location for a regional draw, wasn't nearly as attractive with another major park being built 100 miles away. And, it's impossible to say if the Columbus site would have ultimately won out or not, but the Franklin County Commissioners and the Tafts knocked it out of the running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I do remember hearing about that at one time. There actually is still a huge amount of land over there by the Continent. As all the Busch Parks are highly themed, I would imagine that there would be huge changes at the various parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 And lets not forget at one time I Do believe right when the owners of COney was tinkering with moving there almost was a park going to start at I75 and 71 during that craze 60-70's lots of parks closed or moved . Cincinnatians love Kings Island maybe a private investor will buy it and chop it up i t would be ironic to be owned in cincinnati again by cincinnati owners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hauntguy Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I am pulling for Universal and Busch to buy the park(s). I know that our rides and shows will be greatly improved! But think... HALLOWEEN!! Either park... with Halloween Horror Nights and/or Hallow-Scream... both are amazing events... Could we see a MAJOR change in themed, holiday entertainment at KI? -Hauntguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Yep. Actor Fess Parker, who played Davey Crokett in the Disney movies had planned to open up a Frontier World theme park at the intersection of I-71 and I-75 in Northern Kentucky. This was one of the reasons that Taft moved swiftly to buy Coney and build Kings Island, they had the potential to have competition right in their backyard. Ultimately, Fess Parker nixed the plans, because of the competition from the developing Kings Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPKI Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Wow, it would be pretty cool to have Universal or Busch own the park. So long as it's not Cedar Fair though. There's nothing wrong with them, but I like the theming that Universal and Busch pull off alot better than Cedar Fair's. Besides that it would make CF in control of all three of OH's major parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersNSich Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 If it is either Universal or Anheuser-Busch, I hope they theme and maintain their theming much better than Paramount/Viacom/CBS has. If Busch buys the parks, they would be a great operator for Kings Island and position, but I'm concerned about Kings Dominion because BGW and KD are only about an hour apart. More realistically, I see Cedar Fair buying the parks. In October, I attended a CoasterBuzz Podcast at CP, where CEO Dick Kinzel was the guest. In that, and other interviews, he has said that while CP and other CF parks may not be on tops of theming - but has said that the company would be interested in expansion, if feasible. It's a good question if they want to acquire five large parks in one sweep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 hmmm... you know, if I had a profitable park system with over a billion dollars I would somehow find a way to incorporate that into my corporate strategy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I thought the parks were all ready sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 you could be right, but I would assume it would be big news in the local media if it had. So are we to guess that "Paramount" is going to be dropped from the name... the press release said that their intent is to "go as Paramount" through opening day.... Do you think that they'll just go back to plain "Kings Island"... that would probably happen if Cedar Fair bought it; it would be odd as "NBC Universal Kings Island." And do all the "Nick-Themed" attractions go with the sale? When Cedar Fair bought Gauega Lake (SFO)... they re-themed everything away from WB.... maybe there were no naming rights and they had to, don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I would imagne that Paramount will sell them the right to use the names and all the theming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cewldre Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 all the reports I have heard are trying to sell the parks as a whole along with a theming package. It would be hard not to sell the rights to the Paramount Characters at least for some amount of time. You want get to many serious bidders if they know that within a year they have to retheme everything you have built the year before. I bet there will be some grace period, probably more than at least 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Yes, all reports on the sale indicate that the Paramount theming is one of the most attractive points of the sale. (Let's face it...when seven of the top 10 shows on basic cable are Nickelodeon series the brand has some real value...no matter how much you'll miss HB land.) Obviously, if the parks are bought by an investment group (i.e., Blackstone or any of the others) there shouldn't be any issues with continuing the existing theming as is, assuming the legal details get all worked out. If either CF or BEC (Busch Entertainment) buys the parks, there's no reason why they couldn't maintain most of the theming as well. Even further, there's no reason why some of the theming licenses (Nick mostly) couldn't be carried over into either of those companies' existing parks. (That could be a win/win for both the park company and Viacom.) For instance, wouldn't Nick have a lot larger appeal to children (and their parent$) than would BG's current "Land of the Dragons" childrens' area? If Universal would end up with them it gets a little tricky, since NBC-Universal is a competing media company. (Although, they do have the previous experience with Nick at USF and USH so I guess that's possible...) Of course, there are a whole slew of reasons why I think it's VERY unlikely that either BEC or Universal will end up with the parks, and somewhat (but less so) unlikely CF will... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 (edited) Who owns Dream World the one from down under? They already use alot of the same rides themed to are Nick area. Here are some pictures. Wonder where I saw those rides before? Edited February 22, 2006 by Vortex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Let's face the facts that if Universal or Busch Gardens takes over that there will be radical changes in the way the parks are set up. Both of those parks have a great deal of experience running parks the way that "they run them" and have deffinite ideas on how they wish their properties to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Well, they've both certainly proven that they are adept at creating (and MAINTAINING) quality themed attractions, and running parks. However, there's no reason why BEC couldn't carry out that same quality using Viacom/CBS media themes. (And, I still maintain that the addition of Nick stuff just isn't good for the Paramount Parks, but useful for others as well...it's a franchise that can bring in the kids--and their parents' money.) Considering how Bob Wright has said on more than one occassion that they haven't exactly enjoyed the theme park business so far with Universal Studios, and it's been widely reported that they'd prefer to sell if they could get a good price, makes it somewhat unlikely that they'd increase their exposure in the industry. Busch has made similar remarks about a desire to eventually get out of the parks business. Plus, the parks they already own do exactly what they want them for...let's face it, they're not in theme parks because they love the business. They own theme parks because it helps put a nice, family face on what is their REAL business... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 The Paramount rights will not be sold with the parks, Six Flags didn't sell their names with SFWOA. The only names that will go with PP are the ones owned by PP IF we are sold as a whole, if we are sold by park. Carowinds will be looking at new names for: Ricochet, Vortex, and any Paramount themes. If we as a whole we keep the rights to Hanna-Barbera, and Scooby-Doo because thoose are never-ending. If we are sold by park, Scooby-Doo is likely to hang around in our dark rides for a season or two then be changed to a different theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Because when SF sold SFWOA, they still had other parks remaining which retained the WB themes. And, they couldn't have granted the licenses to Cedar Fair even if they wanted to--because SF doesn't own the rights--WB does. However, when Warner Brothers sold the parks to Boston Ventures, the licensing went with them...when Boston Ventures sold Six Flags to Premier Parks...the licensing went with them. And when the old SF management tried to sell the parks this year to fend off Dan Snyder's proxy fight, guess what? They used the WB licensing as one of the reasons why the parks were worth buying (meaning, the licensing went with them...) There's a big difference between selling just one park, and selling an entire chain. Especially when the company selling the chain is the one which owns the media rights to the themed attractions in the chain. Not to mention that pretty much every media analyst and industry consultant has said that they expect the buyer of the parks to retain the Viacom licensing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazypkikid2005 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I agree the names will come with them they cant expect to sell the parks if the rights dont come to. No one in their right mind would buy without the names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I remember my friend telling me something about this he heard on the news that it was up for sale, i didnt believe him but now i wish that either Cedar Fair or Busch would buy the park because i believe that they can do the best for the park. I do hope that one thing happens if any of them buy it. The Beast and Racers remain their name and they will be upkept in pristine condition because those are two of the best rides in the park. If they dont and they change their name to like Predator or something that would **** me off so bad. But i am sure with the prestige of both those coasters that they will leave it the way it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 If Beast and Racer are kept in pristine condition, that would be a CHANGE from how Paramount has maintained them. You want to see wood coasters kept in pristine condition, you are going to have to visit Knoebels, Holiday World or Kennywood. Certainly not Paramount Parks. Witness anything from the Hurlers (shameful) to Grizzly at PKD to Rebel Yell at that same park to even Beast or Racer (the latter of which desperately needs a paint job, retracking and train overhauls). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Personally, I think The Beast is very well maintained. They are always retracking portions of the ride every offseason. Also, The Racer, while it has some rough spots, it kept in good order. (They retracked a large portion of the return leg on the Forward Racer for last season.) Additionally, I don`t think that The Racer is in that much of a need for a paint job. Yes, the trains could use some work. At least replace the lapbars that have had their foam picked away and are covered with orange tape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italianchef Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 My guess is that which ever entity (or entities) purchases the parks will surely want the Nickelodeon license beause of its popularity. However, I am not as certain that the new owner/owners of Paramount's Parks will also want to pay a premium for the Paramount Pictures license. Rides like Top Gun or TIJ can easily be re-themed and few of the movie-themed rides have much impact because of the films they are based on. That's my humble opinion anyway. Have a great day! Italian Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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